The present invention is directed to a casino gambling apparatus, which could be either an individual gambling unit or a casino gambling system having a plurality of gambling units, that is capable of detecting the presence of a person.
A conventional gambling unit has been provided with a display unit that is capable of generating video images, a coin or bill acceptor, and a controller with a memory and a processor that controls the overall operation of the gambling unit. The controller was programmed to allow a person to make a wager, to cause video images to be generated on the display unit, to determine an outcome of the video gambling game, and to determine a value payout associated with the outcome of the video gambling game. The conventional gambling unit was programmed to display video images representing a video gambling game, which included a number of user-selectable video gambling games including video poker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno and video bingo.
The conventional gambling unit was also programmed to cause a screen-saver sequence to be performed on the display unit. The screen-saver sequence included a plurality of video images relating to the game without the generation of sound. The gambling unit would periodically exit the screen-saver sequence to perform an attract sequence, which included a plurality of video images and the generation of one or more sound segments that were designed to attract a player to the gambling unit. If a player deposited a coin or a bill or made another input to the gambling unit during performance of the attract sequence, the gambling unit would terminate the attract sequence and generate another display, such as a game-selection display, to allow the player to begin gambling. The conventional gambling unit also included an instruction sequence that included a plurality of help displays that could be displayed in response to the player pressing a xe2x80x9chelpxe2x80x9d key or similar key.
One example of a prior casing gambling system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,515 to Pease, et al. The Pease, et al. patent discloses a progressive gaming system having a plurality of individual gambling units that are operatively linked together to allow the generation of a relatively large progressive jackpot that may be won by one of the players using one of the individual gambling units in the progressive system.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a casino gambling unit that may include a display unit capable of generating video images, a detection apparatus capable of detecting the presence of a person, and a controller operatively coupled to the display unit and the detection apparatus. The controller may comprise a processor and a memory and may be programmed to allow a person to make a wager, to cause a video image representing a video gambling game to be generated on the display unit, to determine an outcome of the video gambling game and a value payout associated with the outcome of the video gambling game, and to cause an attract sequence comprising a plurality of video images displayed on the display to be performed in response to detection of the presence of a person.
The video image may represent a video gambling game selected from the group of video gambling games consisting of video poker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno and video bingo, in which case the video image may comprise an image of at least five playing cards if the video gambling game comprises video poker; the video image may comprise an image of a plurality of simulated slot machine reels if the video gambling game comprises video slots; the video image may comprise an image of a plurality of playing cards if the video gambling game comprises video blackjack; the video image may comprise an image of a plurality of keno numbers if the video gambling game comprises video keno; and the video image may comprise an image of a bingo grid if the video gambling game comprises video bingo.
The controller may be programmed to cause an attract sequence comprising a plurality of video images and one or more audio segments to be performed in response to detection of the presence of a person. The controller may be programmed to perform a screen-saver sequence and to cause the screen-saver sequence to be terminated and an attract sequence comprising a plurality of video images and one or more audio segments to be performed in response to detection of the presence of a person. The controller may be programmed to perform a screen-saver sequence comprising a plurality of video images without the generation of sound and to cause the screen-saver sequence to be terminated and an attract sequence comprising a plurality of video images and one or more audio segments to be performed in response to detection of the presence of a person.
The detection apparatus may comprise a detection apparatus that is capable of directing radiation towards a person and detecting radiation from the person, and the detection apparatus may comprise a detection apparatus that is capable of detecting when a person is within a given distance of the gambling unit.
The invention is also directed to a casino gambling method that may comprise detecting the presence of a person, causing an attract sequence comprising the generation of one or more sound segments or one or more video images to be performed in response to detecting the presence of the person, allowing a person to make a wager, causing a video gambling game image to be generated, determining an outcome of the video gambling game represented by the video gambling game image, and determining a value payout associated with the outcome of the video gambling game.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a casino gambling system that may comprise a first gambling unit, a second gambling unit, a third gambling unit, and a central controller operatively coupled to the gambling units. Each of the gambling units may include a display unit that is capable of generating video images, a detection apparatus capable of detecting a direction of movement of a person, and a gambling unit controller operatively coupled to the display unit and the detection apparatus. Each gambling unit controller may have a processor and a memory and may be programmed to allow a person to make a wager, to cause a video image associated with a video gambling game to be generated on the display unit, and to determine an outcome and a value payout for the video gambling game.
The central controller may comprise a processor and a memory and may be programmed to receive a first signal from the first gambling unit in response to the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit detecting movement of a person in a first direction, to receive a second signal from the first gambling unit in response to the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit detecting movement of a person in a second direction, to transmit a response signal to the second gambling unit in response to receipt of the first signal from the first gambling unit to cause the second gambling unit to perform an operation, and to transmit a response signal to the third gambling unit in response to receipt of the second signal from the first gambling unit to cause the third gambling unit to perform an operation.
In a further aspect, the invention is directed to a casino gambling system that may comprise a first gambling unit, a second gambling unit, and a central controller operatively coupled to the first and second gambling units. The central controller may have a processor and a memory and may be programmed to receive a person-detect signal from the first gambling unit in response to the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit detecting the presence of a person, and to transmit a response signal to the second gambling unit to cause the second gambling unit to perform an operation in response to detection of the person by the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit.
The central controller may be programmed to cause the second gambling unit to perform an attract sequence comprising a plurality of video images and/or one or more sound segments in response to detection of the person by the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit. The second gambling unit may have a gambling unit controller that is programmed to perform a screen-saver sequence that may comprise a plurality of video images with or without the generation of sound, and the central controller may be programmed to cause the second gambling unit to terminate the screen-saver sequence and to initiate an attract sequence in response to detection of the person by the detection apparatus of the first gambling unit.